In hospitals and other medical facilities, it is often necessary to administer medication to a patient by infusing the medication into the patient through a catheter that is connected to the circulatory system of the patient. Common infusion techniques include introduction of a solution including the medication directly to the patient, or introducing the medication solution in combination with an infusion fluid serving as a diluent. The infusion may involve dispensing the fluid to the subject by gravity or actively pumping the fluid into the subject using a device known as an infusion pumps.
Unfortunately, current systems for administering medication by way of infusion suffer from several disadvantages. By way of example, current systems require an assembly of many different pieces or components (e.g., IV Bags, tubing, drip chambers, y-site connectors, etc.) to achieve single or multi-drug delivery to the patient. Due to the cumbersome assembly of these components by the attending care taker (nurses, medics, physicians), most often at the bedside, significant attendant time is consumed to prepare the infusion equipment for use. Typically due to the large number of steps, interventions, and operations, the current solutions are prone to errors. These errors can lead to patient injury or death, increased litigation, increased insurance cost, and loss of patient trust.
There exists a need to reduce errors, set-up and operational time, and complexity of administration of IV infusion. The present invention addresses these needs and others.